NEW JERSEY DAILY BRIEFING

Thefts Might Imperil Pilots

By ANDY NEWMAN

Published: August 15, 1996

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP—
Transportation officials are worried by the theft of the colored glass globes that cover the runway lights at Trenton-Robbinsville Airport. About 30 of the red, green, blue and orange markers have disappeared this year, and without the complete system of colored lights, officials say, pilots of small planes could misjudge an approach and crash. Gil Maupin, chief of inspection and aircraft operations for the State Department of Transportation, told The Associated Press yesterday that he believes teen-agers are stealing the globes on a dare.